LONG BEACH – Two months before the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Dwight Tanaka’s crew of 40 begin laying down the foundation for a city within a city destined to thrive for three days.

That’s 2,100 concrete blocks for the 1.97-mile race track, each block measuring 12 feet long and weighing 10,000 pounds apiece. An assortment of cranes, forklifts and semi-trucks erect four miles of debris fence. As the weekend draws closer, portions of the city’s downtown area are shut down in phases. More structures are added: 17 grandstands, 65 hospitality suites, nine pedestrian bridges, and seven diamond vision boards.

And all it took was a year of planning that began almost immediately after the conclusion of last year’s 32nd Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“A lot of people think we work only three three days out of the year, but that’s not the case,” said Tanaka, vice president of operations under the Grand Prix Association.

Staging the Grand Prix takes a veritable army. In addition to the volunteers and organizers of the event, nearly 250 people from more than 13 city departments and ancillary organizations work in concert to pull off a weekend of national and international racing that attracts about 180,000 to downtown.

The scope of organizing the event has grown more complicated over the years as the Long Beach skyline changed with the influx of housing developments, residents and businesses, Tanaka said.

More city staffers are working as well, said David Ashman, manager of special events and filming under the Parks, Recreations & Marine Department.

“There are more people this year and the reason why is because there are more things going on downtown,” Ashman said. “We have a growing resident community, we have more businesses. We have more police and harbor area operations because (the area) has been much more popular. Because of the heavy impact on traffic, we also have a nightlife traffic plan.”

The city doesn’t foot the bill for overtime hours, either. Ashman said the Grand Prix Association contracts with the city, shelling out about $400,000 for the manpower.

“There is true cooperative effort between city departments,” said Long Beach Fire Capt. Mike Duree, who worked eight years as assistant race chief for the Grand Prix.

The Fire Department will staff the event with four engine companies, two paramedic carts, basic life support, a command team and disaster-preparedness staff. They will be positioned at areas such as the west entrance of the Long Beach Arena, the west side of the track and the pit.

“Because the Grand Prix creates a city within a city, our job is to create the same service delivery model inside and outside the track,” Duree said.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.